Columbus Monuments Pages

Cristóbal Colón

Christopher Columbus

Description

Bronze statue of Columbus, pointing northward, and a native Taino climbing up to reach him. According to an other description the native Taino is the Cacica, Anacaona, the first Indian to learn to read and write. Anacaona was captured in an act of trickery whereby her village was burned and all the inhabitants slaughtered by troops under the command of Nicolas de Ovando, then Governor of Santo Domingo. Ovando was under orders by Columbus to wipe out the remaining unsubjugated Tainos who were beginning to rebel against the Spanish. Anacaona was subsequently hung in a public square in Santo Domingo (from St. John Beach Guide)

Annotation

"In this pose the Discoverer points the way to new discoveries and symbolizes the era in which Santo Domingo, the historic name of this island, was the capital of the Spanish Empire. In the background is the ancient Cathedral of Santo Domingo in which the Great Admiral is buried." (quote from the verso of one of the postcards).